Continued arbitrary detention and judicial harassment faced by Nabeel Rajab

BHR001 / 0812 / OBS 048.20

Arbitrary detention /

Critical health condition

Bahrain

June 22, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights(FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received newinformation and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation inBahrain.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sourcesabout the continued arbitrary detention and judicial harassment faced byMr. Nabeel Rajab,President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and FIDH DeputySecretary General.

According to the information received, on June 21,2016, Mr. Nabeel Rajab appeared before the Public Prosecution, which remandedhim in custody for eight additional days, in spite of a request for immediaterelease made by his legal counsel.

During yesterday's hearing, Mr. Rajab informed thePublic Prosecutor that he was suffering from severe pain due to chronicillnesses such as gallstones and skin infections, and that his immunity wasdeteriorating due to his current health status and bad detention conditions.Mr. Rajab also highlighted that he had been examined by a doctor of the BahrainDefense Hospital earlier in the morning, who confirmed the need to remove hisgallstones, but that he was denied a copy of his medical report.

During the hearing, Mr. Rajab also reported that hewas held in solitary confinement in a dirty cell. He stated in particular thatcleaning products and items provided by his family were not allowed by theguards and officers of the East Riffa Police Station, where he has beendetained since his arrest on June 13, 2016 (see background information). OnJune 14, 2016, he had already appeared before the Public Prosecutor, who hadremanded him in custody for seven days, under accusations of “publishing andbroadcasting false news that undermine the prestige of the State”, reportedlyin relation to interviews he gave in early 2015 and 2016.

The Observatory denounces the continued arbitrarydetention of Mr. Nabeel Rajab, which seems to be yet another evidence of along-standing pattern of harassment against him in an attempt to sanction hishuman rights activities (see background information).

The Observatory calls upon the Bahraini authorities toimmediately and unconditionally release Mr. Nabeel Rajab, and to put an end toany act of harassment against him and in general against all human rightsdefenders in Bahrain.

Background information:

In the morning of June 13, 2016, police forces reportedly led by theCybercrime Unit arrested Mr. Nabeel Rajab, after raiding his house and seizinga number of electronic devices.

On June 13 in the afternoon, Mr. Rajab was able tocontact his wife by phone, and reported being detained at East Riffa PoliceStation. On June 14, 2016, he was transferred to the Public Prosecution, whichremanded him in custody for seven days, on accusations of “publishing andbroadcasting false news that undermine the prestige of the State”.

Mr. Rajab's arrest took place on the first day of the32nd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC)in Geneva, in a context where five other human rights activists and relativesof a victim[1] were stopped by Immigration, Passport, and Residency officials at the Bahrain International Airport on June 12, as they were about toboard their plane to Geneva, and were informed that they were banned fromtravelling.

The Observatory recalls that Mr. Rajab has facedcontinuous judicial harassment for his legitimate human rights work since hisfirst arrest in June 2012. On July 9, 2012, Mr. Rajab was sentenced tothree months' imprisonment for allegedly libelling the residents of Al Muharraqvia several tweets posted on his twitter account. On August 23, 2012, Mr. Rajabwas acquitted by the Higher Appeal Court.

On August 16, 2012, the Lower Criminal Court sentencedMr. Rajab to three years of imprisonment in relation to three casesrelated to his participation in peaceful gatherings in favour of fundamentalfreedoms and democracy. In December 2012, the Appeals Court reduced thesentence to two years of imprisonment. Mr. Nabeel Rajab completed hissentence and was released in May 2014.

On October 1, 2014, Mr. Nabeel Rajab was summonedand remanded in detention by the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption andEconomic and Electronic Security of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)for “insulting a public institution” under Article 216 of the Bahraini PenalCode. The case related to a tweet he published in September 2014, in which he criticised the militaryinstitutions for generating extremist ideologies (the “terrorism tweet” case).On November 2, 2014, the Third Lower Criminal Court ordered Mr. Rajab’srelease but barred him from leaving the country.

On January 20, 2015, the Third Lower Criminal Courtsentenced Mr. Nabeel Rajab to six months' imprisonment on the charges of“insulting public institutions and the army”, pursuant toArticle 216 of the Bahraini Penal Code[2].

In 2015, two other sets of criminal charges werebrought against Mr. Rajab. On February 26, 2015, Mr. Rajab was summonedfor investigations for charges of “inciting hatred towards the regime” inrelation to a speech he made in February 2011 during a funeral (the “funeralspeech case”). To date, the police investigation is ongoing.

In addition, on April 2, 2015, over twenty police carssurrounded Mr. Rajab’s house and policemen arrested him. Mr. Rajabwas then sent to the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic andElectronic Security to be interrogated and placed in detention in solitaryconfinement in Isa Town Police Station. On April 3, 2015, Mr. Rajab wasinterrogated by the CID regarding two new charges brought against him undercriminal case No. 2015/38288. The first chargewas “insulting a statutory body” (Article 216 of the Penal Code) referring tothe Ministry of Interior in relation to tweets he posted denouncing the tortureof detainees at Jaw Prison (the “Jaw torture tweets” case). The second chargewas “disseminating false rumours in time of war” (Article 133 of the Penal Code)in relation to tweets he published about the Saudi-Arabia led coalition airstrikes in Yemen (the “Yemen tweets” case). If sentenced on the second charge,Mr. Rajab could be facing up to 10 years' imprisonment. Mr. Rajabrefused to sign the police minutes of the investigations. On April 4, 2015,Mr. Rajab was brought before the Public Prosecution. The Prosecutionordered seven days detention pending investigation. On April 5, 2015, securitypolice confiscated all electronics devices belonging to Mr. Rajab and membersof his family.

On April 11, 2015, the prosecution ordered anadditional fifteen days in detention for Mr. Rajab. On April 26, 2015, thePublic Prosecution officially charged Mr. Rajab under Articles 133 and216. The Public Prosecution subsequently extended his detention for anadditional fifteen days. On May 11, the Bahraini High Court extended Mr.Rajab´s preventive detention for 15 days.

On May 14, 2015, the Bahrain Criminal Court of Appealupheld the six-month prison sentence (the “terrorism tweet” case).

On July 13, 2015, the King of Bahrain Hamad Ben IssaAl-Khalifa ordered through Royal Pardon the release of Mr. Nabeel Rajab forhealth reasons. Mr. Rajab had already served three of the six months jailsentence. Moreover, on the same date, the Public Prosecution imposed a travelban against Mr. Rajab in relation to criminal case No. 2015/38288 related tothe Jaw torture and Yemen tweets cases.

Mr. Rajab’s lawyers subsequently filed appeals againstthe travel ban with the investigating prosecutor on September 2, 2015, with theAttorney General on September 16, and with the Office of the Public Prosecutionon October 1, 2015. They received no response to such petitions. On December 3,2015, Mr. Rajab's lawyers submitted another petition to the Attorney Generalrequesting the lift of the travel ban imposed on Mr. Nabeel Rajab on July 13,2015. In the written request filed to the Attorney General, Mr. Rajab's lawyersraised the issue of urgency, as Mr. Rajab's wife health is continuouslydeteriorating and needs treatment outside of Bahrain, accompanied by Mr. Rajab.This request has been disregarded.

Actions requested:

The Observatory urges the authorities of Bahrain to:

i. Release Mr. Nabeel Rajab immediately andunconditionally, as he is targeted solely for his human rights activities;

ii. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrityof Mr. Nabeel Rajab and that of all human rights defenders in Bahrain;

iii. Put an end to any act of harassment, including atthe judicial level, against Mr. Nabeel Rajab and against all human rightsdefenders in Bahrain;

iv. Conform in any circumstances with the provisionsof the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 bythe United Nations General Assembly, in particular:
- its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individuallyor in association with others, to promote the protection and realization ofhuman rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;
- its Article 6 (c) which states that “everyone has the right,individually and in association with others to study, discuss, form and holdopinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rightsand fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, todraw public attention to those matters” ;
- and its Article 12.2 which states that “the State shall take allnecessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities ofeveryone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure orany other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exerciseof the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rightsand fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rightsstandards and international instruments ratified by Bahrain.

Addresses:

• Cheikh Hamad bin Issa AL KHALIFA, King of Bahrain, Fax: +973 176 64 587
• Cheikh Khaled Bin Ahmad AL KHALIFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fax : 0097317 21 05 75; Email: ofd@mofa.gov.bh
• Cheikh Khalid bin Ali AL KHALIFA, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs,Fax: +973 175 31 284
• Lt. Gen. Cheikh Rashed bin Abdulla AL KHALIFA, Minister of Interior, Email:info@interior.gov.bh
• Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.Fax: + 41 22 758 96 50. Email: info@bahrain-mission.ch
• H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Yousif Aldoseri, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain tothe Kingdom of Belgium, Fax: 0032 (0) 26472274; E-mail:Brussels.mission@mofa.gov.bh

Please also write to diplomatic representations ofBahrain in your respective countries.

[1] Messrs. Hussain Radhi, member of BCHR,Ebtisam Al-Saegh, and Ebrahim Al-Demistani and the parents of Mr.Ali Mushaima, a victim of extrajudicial killing in 2011, who were planning toattend the UN HRC 32 and to participate in a side event on the situation ofhuman rights in Bahrain.

[2] Article216 of the Penal Code provides for a maximum sentence of three years'imprisonment. However, during the October-19 hearing, the Prosecution made anoral statement to ask the judge to consider Mr. Rajab as a “recidivist” in thelight of the repetition of the alleged “crime”, and that aggravatedcircumstances should be retained, to double the maximum penalty applicable tohim, meaning six years.